Today, seemingly more than in the past, companies are discovering that the general work force is ill-equipped and ill-trained, through a lack of formal training, prior work experience, or participation in apprenticeship programs, to perform necessary job-related tasks. Companies are also discovering that ill-trained workers fall into two major categories including a first category of workers who are new to a company's industry and who have none of the necessary skills to perform tasks of interest on behalf of their companies.
In order to accomplish the task of providing training to employees, many companies send their employees to training programs, which are generally developed and conducted by an in-house training department or may be a function under contract to an outside firm to deliver company-specific content designed to meet company-defined training objectives. A company may also send its workers to training programs, conducted by outside firms or organizations that are designed to generically train employees of a certain industry in a particular subject or task associated with their employment.
Regardless of who develops, designs, and/or conducts a training program, such programs typically require that an employee attend a number of training sessions at a selected training site. Unfortunately, the training site is often distant from the employee's normal workplace (particularly when the training program is conducted by an outside firm or organization not under contract to the employee's company) and the training sessions are often on days and at times that do not conveniently fit into the employee's schedule. As a result, the employee may have to travel between the training site and the workplace and may possibly have to stay overnight near the training site.
By requiring the employee to travel and to attend training sessions on inconvenient days and at inconvenient times, the employee's personal and professional lives can also be interrupted, potentially upsetting or distracting the employee and reducing his/her ability to learn new skills. Additionally, the employee's company typically incurs direct expenses related to the employee's travel and indirect expenses associated with the opportunity cost of work not being accomplished while the employee is at the training site or while the employee travels to and from the training site.
The professional ranks are also seeing a need for a more efficient means to undergo training. For example, Continuing Legal Education (“CLE”) had found its way to the Internet with well-known service providers such as LawyersLearn.com, Inc. LawyersLearn.com is currently delivering online continuing legal education to attorneys, whom are well known as a group to have limited time to attend live courses. Online CLE is a very reasonable alternative to live CLE seminars as a means for attorneys to complete their annual Minimum Continuing Legal Education (MCLE) requirements (required by most State Bars).
Training material offered by typical training programs can generally include presentations by individuals having certain relevant knowledge or expertise, “how-to” demonstrations, and “hands-on” training exercises. Such training sessions, especially if conducted without adequate company control, are often too long in duration and present too much training material, thereby causing many trainees to lose concentration and, otherwise, causing them to fail to comprehend and absorb the material. To make matters worse, it can be impossible to evaluate a trainee's comprehension and understanding of the training material provided in such training sessions without evaluation. Without feedback, it can be difficult to determine whether or not additional training is necessary and, if so, it can be difficult to conduct immediate reinforcement training. Furthermore, unless a training program is developed in-house or under contract, the content of such training sessions may include material not relevant to, or up to date with, the objectives of a company.
Many companies have also attempted to overcome disadvantages associated with trainees having to travel to attend training programs by offering satellite-based instruction at the trainee's place of business. Unfortunately though, satellite-related equipment for satellite-based instruction is relatively expensive and is, therefore, often only available to a trainee in a specially equipped training room. As a result, the trainee must still leave his/her work site (i.e., desk, workstation, etc.) to perform training. Also, because a company may only have one specially equipped training room, the trainee generally must schedule use of the room or attend a scheduled satellite-based training session at time. Some companies have attempted to overcome this scheduling difficulty by recording the satellite-based training sessions on videotape for later playback. Unfortunately though, the use of videotape does not alleviate the need for a trainee to leave his/her workstation in order to travel to a specially equipped training room to view the videotape.
With regard to the profession ranks, LawyersLearn.Com, Inc. is among a few CLE providers currently addressing the need for online training and education for busy legal professionals. But the legal community is not alone when it comes to training and educational needs. The medical, financial and technical professions also have a need for continuing education typically delivered through live training seminars, but which could be fulfilled through alternative, remote means.
Computers have become pervasive in all aspects of the business and educational worlds. Computers allow for the generation, storage, retrieval, and interaction with data in useful ways. For example, business uses allow for large amounts of data to be correlated together in the form of databases or spread sheets that allow a user to categorize and view relationships more rapid than was previously possible without the aid of the computer. Computers have also allowed for the dissemination of information either to limited groups or to large audiences via such communication channels as local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and the Internet. Within this transmission of information, multimedia presentations have expanded to broaden the information dissemination and training opportunities available over LANs, WANs, and the Internet. The Internet has also provided interactivity where an Internet user is able to browse among various web sites for information. Upon finding a site of interest to the user, that site at times is able to glean information from the user that would be helpful for the web provider in a commercial or social context.
Hand held computing devices (i.e., hereinafter referred to as “hand held devices” or “handheld devices”) are becoming increasingly popular for storing and maintaining information. One of the first major advances in handheld mobile computer technology was the Personal Digital Assistant (PDA). A PDA allows a user to access computer related information, yet it can fit into the palm of the user's hand. Utilizing a PDA a user can organize personal affairs, write notes, calculate equations, and record contact numbers in an address book. In addition, PDA's are usually capable of interfacing with a desktop computer, typically through a wired connection. The connection allows the PDA to download information and upload information, with the desktop computer. Later developments have given the PDA wireless capabilities. Wireless capabilities allow PDAs to remotely interact with other PDA's/computers that are not physically connected to the PDA.
Although PDA's may be connected to a desktop personal computer or other PDA's via infrared, direct wire, or wireless communication links, PDA's and similar hand held devices can also be linked remotely to networks such as the Internet via local wireless resources, such as RF broadcasts or through available wireless communications techniques.
The most advanced data- and video-enabled wireless communication devices currently available in the marketplace take the form of a PDA (e.g., Palm Pilot™, Handspring Visor™, and Windows CE compatible hand held computers, such as the iPAQ™). Unlike personal computers, which are general-purpose devices geared toward refining and processing information, PDAs are designed to capture, store and display information originating from various sources. Additionally, while a certain level of skill is required to use a personal computer effectively, PDAs are designed with the novice and non-computer user in mind.
The present inventor has recognized the convenience that online training and education is bringing to busy workers and professional since the advent of the Internet. The present inventor, however, has also recognized that vast improvements in wireless technology can further enhance current offerings in online education and current training applications that are primarily focused on a “connected” or “wired” world, but physically connected systems and training application will also continue to experience an explosion of growth and improvement as more people begin to fully realize to positive impact that data networks have on everyday life.
The present inventor has realized that, what is needed in the training field is an interactive process that enables wireless education, instruction and/or professional development via portable, wireless handheld computer systems. The current invention enables users of hand held computers wirelessly coupled to a network (e.g., Internet) to engage in training (e.g., via a multimedia presentation), be evaluated on the understanding gained by the user after the training (e.g., interactive questioning), and allow for reporting (e.g., certification of course completion) of the results of a user's activity and evaluation to a course administrator. Training data can also be used to verify, evaluate, and enhance training, course, student and/or teacher performance and/or development. Training data can also be used for not only for professional or technical development, but could also be used as credit towards certification or even college credit. The present inventor has therefore developed new methods and systems for providing and managing the provision to and execution of training by users via handheld wireless devices as well as improvements for use of fixed, networked computers (wired devices) already deployed and familiar in the field of online education and training.